


In Another Life

by Kedreeva



Series: The Lions of Rome [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Cagefighter AU, Dragons, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 12:11:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13636053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kedreeva/pseuds/Kedreeva
Summary: As one of her charity pieces, HystericBlue requested: "I not so secretly love Negira, can I get a cute fluffy drabble that's errr... not in universe?" So this is a little AU drabble of if Negira and Stiles had met in another lifetime.





	In Another Life

            Negira hatches on the autumn equinox, the first of three. She does not wait long for her siblings to claw their way out of their sticky shells, burrowing down into the heat of the soft, volcanic sand beneath their paws. Their mother curls protectively around the nest to keep it warm, and Negira learns the meaning of safety.

            Only a few days pass before her wings have dried enough to catch the mountain wind. Her father takes them to the edge of their den, and takes a powerful leap into the sky. His wingspan blots out the morning sun, and Negira spreads her own, so tiny in comparison. But they are strong, she is strong, and she springs into the air to join him. Riding a long, warm updraft, Negira learns the meaning of freedom.

            Winter comes, bringing snow and stealing warmth, and leaves again just as quickly. As the spring sun drips down from the sky, wakening the life within the mountains, Negira’s parents take her and her siblings to see the other dragons. They whisper against her mind, the remnants of a network that used to be, a network that lingers in the pleasant buzz of shared emotions. Among her kin, Negira learns the meaning of happiness.

            She leaves her family after a year, when the trees begin to change the colors of fire and a chill once more laces the breeze. She is too old to stay and too young to find a mate, and so she sets off to find a home. Her travels bring her close to the edge of the mountains, to the south where the small, furless creatures build blocky homes out of stone they cut, because they have no magic to shape it. They point and exclaim as she cruises over their sprawling communities. They leave offerings of food and clean water at the edge of their settlement, and Negira learns the meaning of power.

            She stays near one of them, for years. In the remnants of the mountain range’s edge, she finds the shelter of a cave which can hold her through the mild, southern winter. No bears or wolves or mountain cats come near the humans while she roosts so close, and the villagers continue to reward her protection in gifts of food. Sometimes she leaves them shed scales or broken claw tips; as her baby teeth fall out, she leaves them too, one by one. She belatedly realizes she knows the meaning of loyalty.

            But it is not until the spring He arrives, dressed in clean, crisp white, that Negira learns the most important lesson. He comes to her den the way no other has dared, and he kneels in the dirt with his palms splayed up to the sky, and he waits for her. He waits until she has come to him, until her great snout is close to his soft hands, until she can feel the unaware buzz of his mind against hers. She knows he cannot hear her mind the way her kin can, and so when he asks for her name, she sings to him.

 _Negira_ , she sings, the notes high and soft and clear as she presses the meaning against his mind, wanting him to understand.

            “Negira,” he repeats, and he’ll never be sure how he knows it. “My name is Mieczysław,” he says, voice gentle, “and I have wanted to meet you since your first flight here.”

            She tastes the tune of the word.  _Mieczysław_.

            It tastes of summer rain and the sparkle of sun on snow. It tastes like the new life of spring and the endless colors of autumn. His name tastes like safety and freedom and happiness, of power and of loyalty, and she sings it again just to feel connected. It feels like home. She dips her head enough for him to finally touch his hands to the curve of her jaw, and Negira understands the meaning of love.


End file.
